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College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related private, Benedictine liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. The College of Saint Benedict is a college for women in St. Joseph, while Saint John's University is a university for men in Collegeville. Students at the institutions have a shared curriculum and access to the resources of both campuses. Together, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University offer over 70 areas of study to undergraduate students, plus graduate programs in nursing and theology.

History

College of Saint Benedict

Tennis courts, 1918

The College of Saint Benedict opened in 1913, with six students enrolled, and grew out of St. Benedict's Academy, which was founded by Saint Benedict's Monastery in 1889. The Benedictine community incorporated CSB in 1961.[6]

The College of Saint Benedict emphasizes women’s leadership and development to create the next generation of empowered women.[7]

In addition to its undergraduate offerings, CSB offers three graduate nursing tracks[8] that confer Doctor of Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing degrees.

Saint John's University

Saint John's University is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher learning in Minnesota. It was founded in 1857 by the Benedictine monks of Saint John's Abbey. The Benedictine community incorporated SJU in 2012.

In addition to its undergraduate offerings, SJU includes Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary[9] (SOT), a graduate school that confers Master of Divinity and master of arts degrees and also prepares seminarians for the priesthood.

Minnesota Public Radio began on January 22, 1967, when KSJR signed on from the campus of Saint John's University. The station's director of broadcasting was SJU alumnus Bill Kling.

SJU has produced its own coarse-grained bread, Johnnie Bread, since 1856, and used the proceeds to fund projects such as the Abbey Church.[10]

Saint John's University operated St. John's Indian Industrial School, a Native American residential school from 1885 to 1896. In 1888, Indigenous residential school students represented 47 percent of the university's student population.[11][12]

Institutional partnership

Starting in 1955, CSB and SJU began offering joint evening classes, where men and women attend classes together on both campuses. They began sharing a common academic program in the 1960s, and a classes now are co-educational and taught by a shared faculty of approximately 300 professors, mostly full-time, permanent appointees. About 3,000 students are enrolled in CSB and SJU.

Prior to 2022, the two institutions were led by separate presidents. Brian J. Bruess became the first person to serve as president of both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University on July 1, 2022, succeeding transitional presidents Laurie Hamen and James Mullen.[13]

Academics

Ninety percent of CSB and SJU graduates finish in four years, 95% of CSB and SJU students receive financial aid, and 95% of CSB and SJU alums rate their college experience as good or excellent.[14]CSB and SJU have produced four Rhodes Scholars[15] and nine Truman Scholars.[16] CSB and SJU are also a consistent producer of Fulbright scholarship winners. From 2013 to 2020, 39 students from CSB/SJU received Fulbright Scholarships.[17] CSB/SJU has also been recently recognized as a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers.[18]

The most popular majors at CSB, by 2021 graduates, were:[19]

Psychology (54)
Biology/Biological Sciences (48)
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (46)
Elementary Education and Teaching (42)
Accounting (29)
Speech Communication and Rhetoric (29)

The most popular undergraduate majors at SJU, by 2021 graduates, were:[20]

Business Administration and Management, General (64)
Accounting (52)
Computer Science (33)
Biology/Biological Sciences (27)
Speech Communication and Rhetoric (25)
Economics (24)
Psychology (23)

85% of CSB and SJU professors are full-time, the student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1, and the average class size is 19.[21][22]

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest academic honor society. CSB/SJU's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Theta of Minnesota, was established in 2009.[23]

Study abroad

Alumnus trekking in Tibet

CSB and SJU have achieved national recognition for strength in study abroad and international education opportunities. The Institute of International Education ranks CSB and SJU among the top baccalaureate institutions in the nation for the number of students who study abroad.[24] According to Open Doors 2018, CSB and SJU ranked second in the nation among undergraduate institutions for participation in semester-long study abroad programs.[25] There are 17 semester-long study abroad sites available on six different continents. These destinations include: Austria, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece/Italy, Japan, London, Australia, Guatemala, South Africa, Spain, Northern Ireland and multiple cities in Republic of Ireland.[26]

Internationalization

CSB and SJU enroll approximately 250 students from 50 countries and offer 200 undergraduate courses that have a global focus. In 2012, CSB and SJU received the Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization.[18][27]

Center for Ethical Leadership in Action

In 2017, an anonymous donor provided a $10-million gift to create the Center for Ethical Leadership in Action at the College of Saint Benedict. This gift is now used to fund student experiences and research as well as provide financial assistance for students completing unpaid internships.[28]

Campus

Marcel Breuer's Saint John's Abbey Church

The campuses are located on 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) of forests, prairies, and lakes. Since CSB and SJU are located about three and a half miles apart, a regular inter-campus bus service[29] known as "The Link" connects the campuses.

Marcel Breuer, renowned Brutalist architect, designed several buildings on the Saint John's campus in the 1960s, including the Saint John's Abbey Church and bell banner; Alcuin Library; Peter Engel Science Center; the Ecumenical Institute, and Saints Thomas, Bernard, Boniface, and Patrick Residence Halls.[30]

The central cores of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are both listed as historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places.[31][32]

The campus area first appeared as a census-designated place (CDP) in the 2020 Census with a population of 1,585.[33]

Sustainability

CSB and SJU were listed in "The Princeton Review's Guide to 361 Green Colleges: 2016 Edition" as an institution that "demonstrates notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation."[34] The campuses each have their own sustainability office to foster a strong culture of sustainability among the students and the broader community. The institutions signed the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2007, which formalized their goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035. Dramatic steps have been taken by CSB/SJU to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the most recent report, Saint John's reported a 56 per cent reduction in emissions since 2008 levels.[35] Both institutions also complete STARS reports on sustainability and are signatories of the Catholic Climate Covenant.[36] CSB and SJU seeks to educate and engage the campus community through hosting events, speakers, energy challenges, and other activities.

Saint John's Abbey Energy Farm. The Saint John's Abbey is well known for having one of the largest solar fields in the state.[37] The original 3.9-acre facility was built in 2009, and its tracking panels provide the university with about 4% of its annual energy needs and up to 20% of its real-time needs in peak conditions. In 2014, the Solar Farm was expanded to include 616 additional fixed panels.[38][39] These new panels will allow the Solar Farm to produce more than 600 kilowatts of electricity—enough energy to power up to 30% of the SJU campus in peak conditions, and 6% of its energy annually. This project creates a research opportunity for students and others to compare the performance differences between the two types of panels.[40]

Fine arts

Fine Arts Programming is a department of CSB and SJU that presents professional performances and art exhibitions from a range of national and international artists, and also supports and enhances the academic mission of CSB-SJU through its programming, resources, and personnel. Events take place in either the Benedicta Arts Center, a performing and visual arts center located on the CSB campus, or the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater or Alice R. Rogers Gallery and Target Gallery in the Art Center at SJU.[41]

The Benedicta Arts Center is home to Escher Auditorium, Gorecki Family Theater, Colman Black Box Theater, Darnall Amphitheater, Helgeson Dance Studio, Gorecki Gallery & Gallery Lounge, the BAC Box Office, and classroom and rehearsal spaces, faculty and staff offices, and other music, theater, and art-related spaces.[42]

Residential life

Residency requirement

St. Benet Hall

Both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are residential liberal arts colleges that require students to live on-campus for four years.[43] Living in community is of central importance to the student experience.

Rankings

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University both consistently rank among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the country. In 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked St. John's University as tied for the 77th-best liberal arts college in the United States,[44] and College of St. Benedict as tied for the 87th-best liberal arts college in the United States.[45]

CSB and SJU are two of the nation's best colleges for students seeking great academics, outstanding career preparation, and generous financial aid, according to The Princeton Review's book Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Best Value Colleges and What It Takes to Get In – 2015 Edition.[46]

CSB and SJU were rated very highly in MONEY's list of Best Liberal Arts Colleges for 2016 (SJU was No. 3, while CSB was No. 11) and lower as Best Colleges overall (SJU was No. 25, while CSB was No. 47). In the Best Colleges list, CSB and SJU were the only two institutions in Minnesota ranked in the top 50.[47][48] They also rated well in MONEY's 2015 lists.[49]

Student life

Student government

The Saint John's Senate (SJS) is SJU's elected student government, and the Saint Ben's Senate (SBS) is CSB's elected student government.

The Senates, while individually governing in the interest of their own student body, work closely together with students, faculty, staff, and university administrators to enhance all aspects of student life.

Student-run media

All student media are run independently of the CSB and SJU administration.

The Saint John's Bible

The Saint John's Bible is an entirely handwritten and illuminated Bible, believed to be the first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a monastery since the invention of the printing press. It viewable in The Saint John's Bible Gallery in Alcuin Library and is cared for by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML), an independent nonprofit located on the campus of Saint John's.

Athletics

The College of Saint Benedict (CSB) and Saint John's University (SJU) are members of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), competing in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).[54] Their athletic teams are respectively known as the Bennies and the Johnnies.

Johnnies athletics (SJU)

Saint John's (SJU) joined the MIAC since the 1920–21 academic year, and competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports, which are: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and wrestling.

Bennie athletics (CSB)

Saint Benedict (CSB) joined the MIAC in the 1985–86 academic year, and competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports, which are: basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball. In 2019 the athletic teams at CSB were officially rebranded from the "Blazers" to the "Bennies".

In the history of CSB Athletics, 36 teams have won conference titles and seven other playoff titles, while making 53 team and 80 individual national postseason appearances. CSB finished second in the MIAC All-Sports rankings in both 2023 and 2024. CSB has had 1,033 all-conference student-athletes, 110 All-Americans, and 24 conference coaches of the year.

Club sports

CSB and SJU offer a variety of club sports for students to stay active and involved. At CSB, club sports include crew, dance team, figure skating, lacrosse, Nordic skiing, rugby, soccer, clay target team, ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball. At SJU, club sports include hockey, crew, lacrosse, Nordic skiing, rugby, clay target team, ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball.

Notable alumni

Eugene McCarthy
Denis McDonough

Notable alumnae

Notable faculty and staff

See also

References

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External links

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